Silk Floss Tree

A deciduous South American tree with a thick, bottle-shaped trunk armed with stout triangular spines; the bark stays green on young trees and greys with age. Large pink, five-petalled, funnel-shaped flowers with yellowish-white throats open in autumn, usually after the leaves have dropped. The pear-shaped woody pods split to release a white, kapok-like floss around black seeds, which gives the tree its name.